Ventura get on their bikes!

At 12 noon on Friday (September 23) members of staff at the Ventura call centre in Manvers will be the first to receive bikes as part of Rotherham Borough Council's 'Cycle To Work' project -  geared to people who want to give up the car or bus and give cycling to work a go!

Sixty five intrepid Ventura workers have joined the project and each will receive a bike of their choice and cycle training as well as full support over a four week challenge period. Each participant will be asked to keep an on-line diary and those who cycle the most will receive rewards for their perseverance.

At the end of the four weeks, participants can either hand their bike back or will take the opportunity to buy their bikes at a reduced rate and continue to cycle to work.

The scheme aims to make it as easy as possible for participants to cycle to work so they can experience the many benefits of commuting by bike. These include quicker and less stressful journeys; improved health, fitness and wellbeing; as well as saving money on car maintenance, petrol, car parking or bus fares.

The package of support includes basic cycle training to improve competence and confidence; help with route planning, free bike maintenance support as well as email and telephone support throughout the trial period.

The Manvers staff, are the first in Rotherham  to take advantage of the scheme, which is being supported by Transportation Officers at Rotherham Borough Council in conjunction with cycling organisation, Cycle Experience, who are running the project.

It has been funded from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund - a national Government initiative geared to stimulating sustainable access to jobs and reducing carbon.

South Yorkshire bid into the fund and Rotherham will receive a proportion of nearly £5 million awarded to South Yorkshire. South Yorkshire is currently making a further bid for more than £20 million to improve sustainable access to work through low carbon travel options - such as walking,cycling, and public transport.

Coun. Gerald Smith, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Prosperity, said he was delighted to see the launch of this flagship project and hoped that more companies will join in the future.

He added: "The Cycle to Work project has so many advantages and so I am not surprised that Ventura has joined us on this important pilot scheme. I would like to thank them for their support and congratulate their members of staff who are trying the scheme. Manvers has some of the best cycle infrastructure in South Yorkshire and those who opt to bike to work will find themselves saving money as well as reducing congestion and pollution, while improving their overall health and fitness at the same time."

Vicky Jackson of Ventura said: "As part of our strategic objective to reduce the number of people travelling by car to site, we are undertaking a number of initiatives with Rotherham Borough Council to encourage the use of other modes of transport to come to work.

"We have had a fantastic and unprecedented response to the Cycle to Work challenge and thank all of our team that are taking part! It's a huge advantage to our team to be able to try cycling to work and feel the benefits of it in order to potentially make a long term change to their travel arrangements. To also receive guidance on the most effective route to take, and safety advice is an even bigger incentive.